Roofing element



Mar. 20, 1923.

1,449,058;4 T. RoBlNsoN. ROOFNG ELEMENT.

FILED JUNE 9, 1922.

b @ya m7 @j 75 74/ L14.54 /4/ i n W t f4) M Ww @fw @i w JW /4v n \f/4 IN V ENTOR /O 'l wir ZYM ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 20, 1923.

UNITED STATES THOMAS ROBINSON, OF BABYLN, NEW YORK.

ROOFING Application filed June 9, 1922.

To all whom i may concer/1t.'

Be it known that I, THOMAS ROBINSON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Babylon, Long Island, in the county of Suffolk, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in `Roofing Elements; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

rlfhis invention relates to roofing elements such as shingles, tiles and the like. The invention is dir cted to the provision of a rooting element of an improved construction which is non-hygroscopic, which is unaffected by climatic or weather conditions, which will not warp, shrink or expand detrimentally, which is fire-proof and verminproof, which is of light weight, which possesses good heat insulating properties, which can be sawn and nailed like wood and which may be manufactured and installed at low cost.

These objects are attained in accordance with the invention by the provision of a rooiino' element consisting of a base, of a molda ale, heat-resisting composition and a metallic coating upon this base applied directly to the surface of the base and adhering thereto, the metallic coating being preferably applied by electro-deposition.

The base employed .is made of a non-metallic composition such that when it is molded into form and hardened, it will form a non-hygroscopic, heat-resistant rigid sheet which will not warp, which may be sawn as may be necessary and which may be nailed in position. A composition suitable for the purpose is one consisting of granulated cork or wood fiber or asbestos fiber, fire proof cement, such as magnesium oxide, and a suitable lire proof binder such as one having a magnesium chloride base. Vith such a non-metallic, non-hygroscopic, and non-warping base, the heat resisting properties practically eliminate the fire hazard and make the roof more effective by conserving the heat within the building in winter and resisting the entrance of heat in summer. Also, such a non-hygroscopic base will not deteriorate to any great extent should defects or abrasures in the metallic coating occur; and the fact that it will not ELEMENT.

Serial No. 566,948.

warp increases the endurance and life of the roof under extreme conditions of weather.

.The combination, in suitable proportions, of the ingredients mentioned is particularly suitable as the base for a roofing element be'- cause its coefficient of expansion with variations in temperature and moisture is practically Zero. In a roofing element of the character constituting the present invention having a metallic coating applied directly to the surface of the base, it is important that the coefficient of expansion of the base with changes of temperature be very low so as to eliminate the danger of detachment of the metal coating from the base resulting from expansion and contraction with cl'ianges of temperature.

The base may be of any form suitable for application of the rooling elements to a roof; preferably the base is molded into the form of a. rectangular shingle provided with a groove or depression upon its under surface and a ridge or projection of a corresponding form upon its upper surface, such that when the shingles are laid in courses the projections upon the upper surfaces of the shingles of one course will be received in the grooves of the under surfaces of the shingles of thenext higher course.

The base of moldable material made as above outlined has the coating of metal appliedy to it in such a. manner as to cause it to adhere directly to the surface of the base, as by electro-deposition thereon. For the purpose ofapplying such a coating by elec-- tro-deposition, the surface of the molded base should be made electrically conducting as is usual, as for instance by applying a thin iilm of graphite, plumbago or the like thereto. The metal applied to the kbase; takes into all of the irregularities of the surface of the base and thus becomes a closely adherent thin metallic coating covering and protecting the base. It may be applied over the entire superficial area of the base but that is not essential and the metal coating may if desired be confined to that portion of the base which would otherwise be exposed when the rooting elements are assembled upon a roof. The material which I prefer to use for the metal coating is copper but some other metal may be employed instead such for instance as zinc.

Several embodiments and variations of my invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. ln these drawings,

Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, show the roofing element of my invention as embodied 'in a relatively large slab;

Fig. 6 to 10, inclusive, show the roofing element of my invention constructedin the form of an ordinary shingle of varying thickness. l

Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate a Spanish tile made in accordance with my invention.

F 13 is a `greatly enlarged sectional view of a portion of the metal coated sur-v face of any of the roofing elements.

In these drawings, the base made of a nonmetallic, nonshygroscopic, heat-resistant composition molded into form and hardened is indicated at 1a and the coatingI of metal which has been applied thereto at 15. This metal coating is preferably of a thickness corresponding substantially to that ordinarily employed in'electro-plating, but for the sake of clearness it has been shown in the drawings as beingmuch thicker than is really necessary.

Referring particularly to Fig, 13, the surface 16 of the base has been shown as being greatly enlarged or magnified in order to bring out the natural irregularities lor undulations which occur.' In other words, it is intended to show in this figure that the surface of the base, although apparently smooth, is in fact not absolutely uniform, but contains many small ridges and depressions. When, therefore, a thin coating of metal is applied directly to the surface by electrodecomposition the layer or coating of metal 15 will conform substantially to these irregularities in the surface. Even if there were some small difference between the coefficients of expansion of the base material and of the metal coating, this will not seriously impair the roofing element, as l have found that any relative expansion which does take place is taken care of by the continually changing direction of the metal coating which is caused by the irregularities in the composite base.

ln Figs. 2 and 7 there will be seen roofing elements which have the metal coating applied to the entire surface thereof. n In Figs. 3 and 8 the entire upper Surface and outer end of the roofing elements have beeny coated with metal.

Figs. 4.- and 9 illustrate roofing elements wherein the metal coating covers only a part of their1 top surfaces and the exposed ends.

ln 5 and 10 the metal coating has been Acarried around the exposed ends and covers a portion of the under surfaces.

In Figs. 12 and 13 a Spanish tile has been shown and the metal coating thereon eX- tends over its entire surface, although of course this might be restricted to any portion as above described.

The physical properties of the composite rbase are such that ordinary nails may be By the employmentof these materials in` constructing a roofing element having a composite base which is given aprotective coat ing of metal, the metal coating being ap plied directly to the surface of the base so to conform to the irregularities therein and adhere thereto, the coating willhave no tendency to crack or peel. A roofing element constructed in this manner will withstand severe weather conditons, eXtreme changes in temperature, will not warp, is reproof, and is a good heat insulator. Moreover, it is light in weight and inexpensive.

Although l have described my invention in connection with thebest embodiments of which l know at present, it is not intended to limit it beyond the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: v

1. A roofing element comprising a non hygroscopic, heat-resistant, non-warping base of a hardened plastic material, and a metallic coating electroedeposited upon the base.

2. A roofing element comprising a nonhydroscopic, heat-resistant, and substantially rigid base of a hardened plastic material having small irregularities over substantially its ent-ire surface and a thin metallic coating applied to the base and conforming to the irregularities of its surface.

A roofing element comprising a nonhydroscopic, heat-resistant and substantially rigid base formed of a moldable composition of a fibrous substance and a binder, the base having small irregularities over substantially its entire surface and a thin metallic coatin(y applied to the surface of the base and conforming to the irregularities thereof.

In testimony whereof I alli); my signature.

THGLWIAS ROBINSON. 

